Reviews
Isa & The Filthy Tongues – Big Star (Circular Records) 29/06/2009
Edinburgh’s Isa & The Filthy Tongues are a great big bag of blah. Apparently creating quite a lot of buzz in their hometown, on the evidence of “Big Star” I am left wondering if something is very wrong over the border. Isa, or Stacy Chavis from Oregon, has a voice somewhere between a third rate [...]
Defend Moscow – Die Tonight (KIDS) 22/06/2009
No, before you get scared the Cold War is not back on it’s just a name. And again no, Defend Moscow are not a moody Joy Division cover band either. They are in fact an incredibly upbeat dance outfit who produce fine synthpop tunes. They just like choosing macabre names for their songs. Their second [...]
Jack Penate – Everything Is New (XL) 22/06/2009
Last time Jack Penate released an album Kate Nash’s brand of ‘Coronation Street’ pop was slowly creeping up the charts and anyone wanting to get a record contract adopted a mockney accent and played watered down Libertines songs. It was this turgid scene that saw the singer/songwriter find his fame, and unfortunately for him become [...]
The Gaslight Anthem – The 59 Sound (Side One Dummy) 29/06/2009
New Jersey’s favourite sons of Springsteen The Gaslight Anthem seem set to continue on their path to world domination, with the next single to be lifted of their second album. The album’s title track, The 59 Sound, is once again a heady mix of New Jersey hardcore and indie sensibilities, resulting in welcome slice of [...]
Tiny Tigers – Time For Tea (None) 15/06/2009
Branding yourself with the name tiger seems to be proving very popular. The latest band named after the big cat are the Tiny Tigers – oh the irony. On their debut release ‘Time For Tea’ the all female London trio have served up brash indie-rock E.P with a clear punk aesthetic. Sounding like they recorded [...]
Thieves Like Us – Play Music (Shelflife) 15/06/09
Alluding to past greats is always a dangerous game to play. Thieves Like Us have decided to do just so, and have clearly used their moniker as an musical epigraph. Naming yourself after a New Order song lays down some pretty weighty expectations. The post punk band fused together a sound which echoed the harshness [...]
Fenech-Soler, London 13/06/2009
It seems Fenech-Soler could be standing on the cusp of tantalising greatness. Armed with an arsenal of incredible electro tunes written with nuance well beyond their tender years, they are paused, tentative, waiting for the world to cotton on. For the music fan this calm before the storm of success yields the opportunity to witness [...]
The Tim and Sam Band (Static Caravan) 21/06/09
On paper The Tim and Sam Band are as twee as you like, that despicable genre of music that’s floaty light and intended for listening on balmy days lying in fields surrounded by bunnies and daisies. Well the truth is lying in grass is itchy, rabbits are best in pies, and twee music is always [...]
The Pains Of Being Pure at Heart @ Cargo 10/06/09
With eighties tinged electro pop going mainstream this year, thanks largely to the diminutive Little Boots and Co. The underground has seemingly lost it’s soundtrack. However, since late last year a new fuzzy sound has been coming out of New York, courtesy of Crystal Stilts and The Vivian Girls. This troupe of bands have also [...]
The Harringtons – Set In Our Ways (unsigned) 22/06/2009
South Yorkshire starlets The Harringtons are most definitely a band that you need to hear. The Barnsley four-piece have been together little over six months, building a respectable local fanbase. Without meaning any disrespect, they have far outgrown such humble surroundings. “Set In Our Ways” is the most exciting release I have heard since Exit [...]
